Be Careful – English Lyrics

• By: Cardi B
• Album: Invasion of Privacy

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Yeah

Be careful, be careful, be careful with me

Yeah, look

...

I wanna get married, like the Currys, Steph and Ayesha shit

But we more like Belly—Tommy and Keisha shit

Gave you TLC, you wanna creep and shit

Poured out my whole heart to a piece of shit

Man, I thought you would've learned your lesson

'Bout likin' pictures, not returnin' texts

I guess it's fine, man, I get the message

You still stutter after certain questions

You keep in contact with certain exes

Do you, though, trust me, nigga, it's cool, though

Said that you was workin', but you out here chasin' culo

And putas, chillin' poolside, livin' two lives

I could've did what you did to me to you a few times

But if I did decide to slide, find a nigga

Fuck him, suck his dick, you would've been pissed

But that's not my M.O., I'm not that type of bitch

And karma for you is gon' be who you end up with

You make me sick, nigga

The only man, baby, I adore

I gave you everything, what's mine is yours

I want you to live your life of course

But I hope you get what you dyin' for

Be careful with me, do you know what you doin'?

Whose feelings that you're hurtin' and bruisin'?

You gon' gain the whole world

But is it worth the girl that you're losin'?

Be careful with me

Yeah, it's not a threat, it's a warnin'

Be careful with me

Yeah, my heart is like a package with a fragile label on it

Be careful with me

Care for me, care for me

Always said that you'd be there for me, there for me

Boy, you better treat me carefully, carefully, look

I was here before all of this

Guess you actin' out now, you got an audience

Tell me where your mind is, drop a pin, what's the coordinates?

You might have a fortune, but you lose me

You still gon' be misfortunate, nigga

Tell me, this love's got you this fucked up in the head

You want some random bitch up in your bed?

She don't even know your middle name, watch her 'cause she might steal your chain

You don't want someone who loves you instead? I guess not though

It's blatant disrespect, you nothin' like the nigga I met

Talk to me crazy and you quick to forget

You even got me trippin', you got me lookin' in the mirror different

Thinkin' I'm flawed because you inconsistent

Between a rock and a hard place, the mud and the dirt

It's gon' hurt me to hate you, but lovin' you's worse

It all stops so abrupt, we started switchin' it up

Teach me to be like you so I can not give a fuck

Free to mess with someone else, I wish these feelings could melt

'Cause you don't care about a thing except your mothafuckin' self

You make me sick, nigga

The only man, baby, I adore

I gave you everything, what's mine is yours

I want you to live your life of course

But I hope you get what you dyin' for

Be careful with me, do you know what you doin'?

Whose feelings that you're hurtin' and bruisin'?

You gon' gain the whole world

But is it worth the girl that you're losin'?

Be careful with me

Yeah, it's not a threat, it's a warnin'

Be careful with me

Yeah, my heart is like a package with a fragile label on it

Be careful with me

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
adore /əˈdɔːr/ B2	verb - to love and respect (someone) deeply
bruisin' /ˈbruːzɪn/ B1	verb - to cause to have bruises
chasin' /ˈtʃeɪsɪn/ A2	verb - to run after someone or something in order to catch them
chill /tʃɪl/ A2	verb - to relax
creep /kriːp/ B1	verb - to move slowly and carefully in order to avoid being heard or noticed
dyin' /ˈdaɪɪn/ A2	verb - to stop living
flawed /flɔːd/ B2	adjective - having or characterized by imperfections
fortune /ˈfɔːrtʃuːn/ B2	noun - wealth or good luck
fragile /ˈfrædʒaɪl/ B2	adjective - easily broken or damaged
hurtin' /ˈhɜːrtɪn/ A2	verb - to cause pain to
inconsistent /ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənt/ C1	adjective - not staying the same throughout
losin' /ˈluːzɪn/ A2	verb - to have something taken away from you
melt /melt/ A2	verb - to turn from solid to liquid
mess /mes/ A2	verb - to make a mess
sick /sɪk/ A2	adjective - feeling unwell
switchin' /ˈswɪtʃɪn/ B1	verb - to change
trippin' /ˈtrɪpɪn/ B1	verb - to behave in a strange way

Key Grammar Structures

• I could've did what you did to me to you a few times

  ➔ Modal Perfect + Past Simple (Non-standard)

  ➔ Non-standard use of "could've did" instead of "could've done". Shows informal speech where past simple replaces past participle.

• You gon' gain the whole world

  ➔ Future Tense (Gon' = Going to)

  ➔ "Gon'" is colloquial contraction of "going to" for future tense. Used in informal speech/song lyrics.

• my heart is like a package with a fragile label on it

  ➔ Simile + Prepositional Phrase

  ➔ Uses "like" for direct comparison (simile). "With a fragile label on it" is a prepositional phrase modifying "package".

• I hope you get what you dyin' for

  ➔ Noun Clause + Colloquial Contraction

  ➔ "What you dyin' for" acts as noun clause (object of "get"). "Dyin'" is colloquial contraction of "dying".

• You even got me trippin', you got me lookin' in the mirror different

  ➔ Causative Structure (Got + Verb-ing)

  ➔ "Got me + present participle" shows causing someone to be in a state. "Trippin'" and "lookin'" are colloquial contractions.

• But if I did decide to slide, find a nigga

  ➔ Conditional (Implied If-Clause)

  ➔ Implied conditional structure: "[If I did decide...], [I would] find a nigga". Shows hypothetical action with omitted "would".

• It's gon' hurt me to hate you, but lovin' you's worse

  ➔ Comparative Structure + Gerund Subjects

  ➔ Compares two gerund subjects ("to hate you" vs "lovin' you"). Uses comparative adjective "worse".

• Always said that you'd be there for me

  ➔ Reported Speech + Contraction

  ➔ Reports past promise using "said that". "You'd" is contraction of "you would" showing future-in-the-past.

• Teach me to be like you so I can not give a fuck

  ➔ Infinitive of Purpose + Slang Expression

  ➔ "To be" shows purpose. "Not give a fuck" is slang expression meaning not to care.